Wood / Coal furnace questions

[PAfamily]

Hello all, new member here. I've been doing some research on wood stoves for the past few weeks and have been coming to this site most regularly to get reviews / info on them. But now I think we will be taking a different direction and thought I'd like to join for getting answers to some of my questions.
We live in west central PA, about halfway between Harrisburg and Pittsburgh. About 7 yrs ago, my wife, our one-yr-old and I settled into our first home. We purchased what used to be, an 1870 built Mennonite church that had been converted into a single story, two bedroom, one bath house with plans to remove the original church ceiling (4.5' above the installed living space ceiling) and put a second story in. But before we could even get all our belongings from the move-in unpacked and settled, we were surprised to find out we were having another child. Then in January '05, we had (not one) but two children - BANG! - from single parents to a family of five in 18 months.
Anywhoo, we had oil furnace heat (and still do) but about 5 years ago I found an Osburn freestanding stove (I think it's a Regent 1000) in a local add for $300 and put it in our living room. We've been using it since and it keeps the house anywhere from 65-85F. I've gotten to the point that I can cut the locust / oak / elm to length, split and stack in my stove to get an overnight / all day burn of about 9 hrs each. But that's letting the house temp drop to -65F... so I'll spend the next two hours trying to get it back to 70+. Also, I don't mind cutting and splitting wood but carrying armloads thru the house when there's 4" snow outside (I keep the wood in a closed pavilion in the back yard) can get old quick. I'll keep a wheelbarrow load in the basement, but that will only last 2-3 days and I've had to gingerly plot my course with a wheelbarrow filled with wood down an ice-laden paved driveway...not fun!
So I started searching CL and Pennswoods classifieds and came across a couple larger wood stoves. I was about to purchase a Coalbrookdale Darby when it was sold before I had a chance to look at it. I started searching again and came across a Lennox 24 ACJ wood / coal furnace for $575. It comes with a T-54 humidifier, new kidney and good firebrick (plus some extra bricks). The seller bought the house it's in and used it the past three years (plus had it serviced each year). He got a different stove and now wants to sell this one. I got to thinking - I'd been wanting a furnace for the past several years and I could get this one in before the cold hit. Plus, I'd still have the Osburn to use if needed.
So, here are a few questions...
I can't seem to find any info on the furnace for sale. Does anyone know about these furnaces?
I will be removing our oil furnace and replacing with this one. I'll also vent to the existing chimney (separate from the wood stove) that the oil furnace vented to. This is an old, unlined brick chimney. If I burn coal for a winter, would I need to have the chimney lined first or would it be fine without? The reason? I will be removing this chimney and putting a 2-stack chimney in it's place (but not this year) - one for wood / coal - one for oil (I'll keep oil for backup and chilly fall / spring days).
Anything I should be looking for / concerned with? Any things I don't want to overlook when I look at the furnace?

Any and all advice / suggestions will be greatly appreciated.
thanks,

 

[laynes69]

While looking for some info on the furnace, I found the ad. Personally I wouldn't give 200.00 for the furnace. Your current woodstove is rated for 1000 sqft, so fairly small. With a 150,000 btu furnace it will be grossly oversized for the home. The furnace appears to be at least 30 years old, and there's big possibilities of burn through or bad warpage from a unit that old. Besides that, you would burn at least a wheelbarrow load of wood a day, and the threat of a chimney fire will be there. I would recommend finding a larger woodstove to fit your needs, whether used or new. Something a little bigger will give you longer burns and the heat needed. If you really want a woodfurnace, then I would save and invest in something that's efficient, unfortunately if it will burn coal then the wood will suffer. If you plan on burning in the basement, I would line the chimney for safety reasons. If you go that route when you build a new masonry chimney that liner can be used. You can find a furnace like a usstove or an englander for a good price if your on a budget. For 575.00 I would pass on the woodfurnace, parts will also be obsolete. Judging by the air jacket, the furnace looks like it's been overfired many times.

 

[PAfamily]

Thanks, I appreciate the input. I also should have mentioned that this would be for maybe two or three years. Also, I was planning on coal only in this furnace as I can get coal reasonably cheap. Would the BTU's be too much even with a smaller amount of coal used and keeping it on a low fire? The reason I was looking at this was that it was in the budget right now. We are currently trying to replace the roof on the house so that would be our major expense this year. Next year I'd look at a chimney, then the following year a new furnace that can do wood, coal and oil all in one. Should I still pass? I don't want to sound like I'm sold on this, but for what's available and in our budget right now I feel that I could use it for a few years and get away with it... Please, more comments. Thanks,

 

[maple1]

This is getting to be a repeated message, but if you're really planning all of this over the next couple of years, make sure you fully evaluate & assess your backup options - and seriously consider getting rid of the oil all together. If it would only be for minimal backup & some shoulder season use, consider an electric boiler or a mini-split heat pump (bonus summer A/C). After 17 years, I am in the process of getting rid of mine (hope to pump the last 20 gallons or so out of my tank tonight & unhook the oil line to the burner). Yesterday I disabled the fill lines - and it definitely feels a lot better than I thought it would. You will be needing one less chimney, gain space, lose a big possible liability in the oil tank (condensation & fuel quality issues will likely increase with infrequent use), and on top of that it will likely be cheaper to operate.

The coal furnace, I know nothing about - but if you have cheap coal, I'd certainly consider it, even if this particular unit turned out to be not so good.

 

[PAfamily]

Well, I thought about it and visited a wood stove dealer. I was looking at a Pacific Energy Super 27 and am pretty much sold on it. It's funny because I was wanting a Pacific Energy stove for the past 3 years but didn't know we had a dealer near. Also, being a little pricey right now with our home projects I am pretty much just ready to bite the bullet and spend the money on a pedestal model now and add legs and decorative door in a year or so... Then, I can look at a wood / coal furnace later on down the line. Plus, the heat pump sounds like a way to go as well...